Kenya foils Al-Shabaab attack

Kenya Police officers in Nairobi. /AP

NAIROBI, Kenya - Security forces in Kenya foiled a deadly Al-Shabaab raid, authorities confirmed, just a few days after top officials from Kenya and Somalia signed a joint agreement that would foster the opening of the porous border between the two countries, which had been closed for several years.

According to police in Kenya, the security forces have been carrying out operations in northeastern Kenya where the militants often carry out attacks, in what is definitely geared towards stabilizing the region. Al-Shabaab has been a menace to the people of northern Kenya.

A security team seized six AK47 rifles, two Rocket Propelled Grenades, two grenades, and other items during an operation on Monday in Garissa County, police spokesperson Resila Onyango said.

The security team consequently, raided an al-Shabaab camp in the wake of reports that the terrorist group has been sending their members to Kenya over the past month to launch attacks. The coordination is done in neighboring Somalia before attackers are dispatched across the border to target innocent civilians.

The victory "is coming at a time when we are facing threats by the terrorists. The operation is ongoing," Onyango said.

The Somalia-based al-Shabaab terrorists have been attacking places in the region, especially in Mandera, Wajir, and Garissa counties in eastern Kenya, after breaching security zones, which has left dozens of civilians and security officials dead and wounded.
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Interestingly, the incident comes just a few hours after the US Africa Command team launched an airstrike in the Middle Juba region, injuring a seasoned Al-Shabaab operative. Somalia's Ministry of Information would later confirm that the person targeted was Osman Mohamed Abdi alias, Moallim Osman.

Moalim Osman, sources say, is the current head of Al-Shabaab external operations and is linked to numerous attacks in Kenya and the attempted raid in Eastern Ethiopia. He recruits foreign fighters and is said to have been critically injured in the airstrike which was conducted on Saturday in Jilib town.

GAROWE ONLINE